I'm not too good with trouble shooting these types of engine problems, so I'd appreciate if some one else could really help me out.

If I'm not mistaken, I think my tranny is slipping. I drive a 04' Maxima, 5 A/T with Manumatic. The problem started happening maybe about a month and a 1/2 ago.

Whenever I'm driving, it seems as if any time its switching from 1st to 2nd and 2nd to 3rd gear, while its trying to switch, right before it does, the rpm shoots up. It shoots up about 1 1/2 from where it at and then switched.

Another problem occurs when I'm BRAKING. When I'm braking and the car I'm guessing is going into 2nd gear, or maybe 1st, there seems to be a THUD in the engine, as if the whole car jumps basically, and this is while I'm trying to break.

That same thud occurs when I'm de-accelerating around a turn (ex:rolling yield) and then try to re-accelerate, right when I'm trying to re-accelerate, the thud comes as if the engine is about drop from where its at

But the THUD doesn't stop there, the thud also occurs when going into Drive, wether it's from Park, Neutral or Reverse.

I'm not sure if this explanation would help any of you on giving me a good response to tell me whats wrong, but if I had to take a lucky guess, I'd say its a problem with my tranny and it maybe slipping

I've gotten an Engine Flush and a Transmission Flush, but neither fixed this problem, taken it to the dealer twice to figure it out, and they say nothing is wrong (bull****). I have a 75K Extended Gold Warranty, so maybe they are trying to make me ride it out until I get over 75K (currently at 72,500K).

What should I do? Taking it to the dealer doesn't seem to help, and I'm really trying to get this problem fixed, would appreciate if any of you would be able to help me out

Sorry about the long read!

 

The downshifting noise sounds like shift shock covered by this bulletin.
http://www.nissanhelp.com/Ownership/.../NTB04-045.htm

The other parts of the problem may be solved by a reflash of the ECM if car was built before Nov 3 03.

I had a similar problem early on, but it has corrected itself and was much less severe.

My problem was shift shock,a loud bang, when accelerating after coasting, but not when cold.

 

Do you use the manumatic a lot? And if it keeps occuring then call up corporate!

 

IMO if you have extended warrenty I would take it to an independent tranny shop and have them look at it. Most shops will replace the transmission. My 5.5gen was slipping and I didnt even consider taking it to the dealer, cause their full of BS.

 

How does taking it to a independent tranny shop help though? The warranty is through nissan, so if anything, Nissan would be the only ones that could fix it, right?

Or do you mean, take it to another shop to find out the problem, and then go back to nissan?

 

I would take it to another Nissan dealership. If one dealership is full of BS take it to another, then another till you find a good one.

 

i second that....take it to another dealer since its still under warranty. Demand taking a mechanic on a test drive. Make sure you are in the car so both of you hear and feel the problem.

if they say its nothing, make sure to get that in writting. So when you call corporate, you have proof of there BS....

 

Hopefully you won't have to take it to corporate. They have been pretty useless in handling my complaints. They take absolutely no responsibility for the actions of the dealers.

 

I had a very similar problem, coasting down any hils my car would jerk while shifting into second gear. The dealership after two trips a few days couldnt "duplicate" the noise, so I had to bring the tech out and show him myself, since it only seemed to happen on this one hill in a major city. Anyways, they changed some settings on my tranny and the problem went away. But since then, when the engine is cold it shifts hard from park to drive from 1st gear to 2nd, and my car's rpm's shoot up too. I dont feel it's a big issue, but if I drive like a granny and barley step on the gas when the engine is cold it shifts very smooth.

Like what others said, go out with the tech and show him for yourself what the problem is to save you time. Good luck

 

Sorry I thought you had a regular extended warrenty. I would go ahead and take it to another dealer until they finally decide to fix the problem. I hope it works out for you. Those dealers are trying to duck out from replacing it with a new(er) unit.(If thats the problem)

 

I have the Gold Preferred Warranty, pretty sure I'm covered until 75K. I'm at 72K right now and I'm going to have to cut down on the miles until I get this problem solved.

 

well i dunno if this helps, but i went to my dealership and they did some "pressure tests" on the transmission. im not really sure what the test actually was, but they said low tranny pressure was the culprit for the slippping and i got my tranny replaced. see if you could get some kind of test like that and ask for the results so you can take a look at it yourself or take it for a second opnion and see if your tranny really ahs something wrong wtih it

 

My '04 was built in Sep of 2003, and so I had the harsh shifting (especially while cold). Applying this TSB helped, but the car seemed to be a little less torquey afterwards... (no way to prove it, might just be my imagination...)

 

Im having the same problem.. sometimes when im slowing down to stop I get the THUD.... and even going in second sometimes.. I thought it was a bad motor mount which I replaced recently.. It hasnt act up yet but I also just lowered the car today and the car feels smoother with the nitrogen in the tires as well... Im going to have to look into this as well..

Thanks for the info.

 

I've set up an appointment with the tech to go out on a drive for next Wed, so i'll def update you guys on what goes on.

 

I also have this problem while shifting from second to third car seems like it drops down to first and back up to third while giving a jolt throughout the car. as far as the thump or drop, I used to have that problem. make sure when downshifting you are under 4500 rpm in the next gear. just like any car you shouldn't downshift if the gear is not meant to handle it. also don't take your foot off the gas if upsifting. I know it's hard to understand but your car will slam into gear once you push the gas. play with it and learn your car is my suggestion. not to say none of these problems are legit, just stating what my problem with the same symptoms was. I finally know how to handle this thing. big change from a 91 civic. lol... as far as this tranny problem I have to visit the dealer tomorrow and with take a tech on a road test with me. will keep everyone posted. also talking with a couple guys with similar problems with their vets, explained how it could be a solinoid problem. don't know for sure will get to the bottom that's for sure.

 

I know how to handle the problem, the fact is, I shouldn't have to try and drive around this. I've changed up my driving habits because of this problem, just so I won't get this "jolt" or "thud". On top of that, it's sad the dealership can't help you out or seem to find the problem when they take it out on a test run, when it's very obvious.

Basically putting my extended warranty to no use at all, seems like Nissan Service sucks, well atleast where I live..

 

just wanted to say after going to the dealership, the bickering came down to leaving my car for the night and morning for them to work on. The guy in charge explained my oil problem or possibilities which I will write on in another post but as for the tranny problem they will be hooking it up to some machines for me tomorrow to find out the problem and possibly change it out if needed. will keep everyone updated on cause of problem.

 

I think it might be computer related...ya never know

 

UPDATE:

After going out with the tech on the test-drive, and having the tech notice the problem, Nissan gave me a call and told me that they'd be keeping my car over night and maybe an extra day to replace the tranny with a new one. They also said along with the transmission, that the trans mount and motor mount were both bad, so both would have to be replaced. The warranty I'd get with the new tranny is 1 year/12,000 miles.

My question is, What is the gaurantee that the installment of all the new interior transmission parts are going to be brand new? What if it goes bad after the 12,000 miles?

All this is being covered under warranty, so I'm not worrying too much, but I'm just worrying about the fact that Nissan will have all this done within 1 day (max, 2). And that the new refurbished tranny will only have a 1 yr / 12,000 mile warranty on it.

 

gen2000,
How does reset of the ECM address the problem?
seems like it's totally different.
Thanks!
eilison

 

Refurbished, eh? That sucks.

 

I had a similar thud noise from my engine. What happen was, as I was slowing down, the thud happed and my engine light came on. When I stepped on the gas the car had a slow response as though it was stuck in a high gear. When I shift from park to gear, the thud noise happened again. I took the car to the dealership and they found that the communication cable between the transmission and the engine disconnected. (How?? I don't know) As for that thuds noise... The engine automatically goes into a safe mode once it recognizes a problem and keeps it self in the same gear that the problem occured to aid in diagnostic testing. The transmission stayed in 3rd gear and when I shifted the car from park to gear, it goes back to the gear where the problem occurred.

Have the dealership look into that cable

 

Wow! I'm glad you posted this info. I'm having the same problem. After stop when reaccelerating it feels like the engine is jumping gears. What was your resolution? Thanks for the help. I would like to get this issue resolved before it turns into something worse. I can tell it is worsening day by day.

 

I first notice that there was a problem when in Manumatic mode, my downshift did not work. I took it to the stealership and they had me purchance a new shifter assembly. Because my max has over a 100 k, I no longer have warranty. I bought the part from Nissan and installed it myself. Replacing the part did not resolve the problem, so when I tried to take it back, they told me that because I installed it myself, they are not liable if the part works or not. (*%@$) So now I have two shifters, and I was pissing mad. They tried to charge me another $90 to diagnose the problem that they did not diagnos properly to begin with, plus asked me to order a new shifter computer chip that cost $1000.00. (Obviously I told them to go %$@9 themselves...) Three months later, that thud sound happened, engine light came on and I'm having a heart attack. As soon as they reconnect the communication cable between the engine and the transmission, my car worked again and my manumatic is back to normal.... Lesson learned... Get a second opinion!!

 

Quote gen2000,
How does reset of the ECM address the problem?
seems like it's totally different.
Thanks!
eilison

The TSB is for an upgraded ECU software program, I assume that it corrects some bad code in the original program.

 

i want to change my rear spring but to make em hgher anny suggestions because i have a subwoofer